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Ilir-na-Nir (D
Fae Dell When party crosses the plane of the dell: * Mikoa suddenly gasps and stops * Ianthe's Tides of Chaos goes off (roll 1d20, Tides of Chaos is expended) * Exarch hears a woman shout his name, from about 10 feet directly behind him (Zain-sar, in the ethereal plane, unable to follow Exarch into the dell) * Ask for party actions * Mikoa tells everyone to stop. She walks back to Exarch. "Give me something you're carrying. A coin, anything." * Mikoa throws the coin back the way they came. At about 10 feet, in midair, the coin stops, but continues tumbling. You watch as it then takes on a pearlescent sheen, similar to the grey elves' armor. Then, a moment later, the coin diffuses into a pastel rainbow-colored cloud of particles and blows away. * Mikoa reveals that you've walked into a fae dell. ** She felt this way before, when she entered a dell to use the siabra path at Hawk's Look. ** There must be a siabra path near here. ** Not much is known about fae dells, but the most important thing to know is that you cannot leave by the same way you came in (she nods toward where she tossed the coin). "We are outside the River of Time. To go back would be swimming upstream against the River of Time. It would destroy us. To leave, we must go through the dell. Everybody stay together." ** Fiorah will confirm the legend and answer any questions. Weird shit happens as the party moves forward: * The light here is diffuse and shadowless, as though a very soft, cool light is coming from everywhere at once. When you catch glimpses of the sky, through the towering canopy of trees overhead, the sky is a soft pink in color, with misty green auroras. The colors are vaguely reminiscent of the otherworldly rainbow pattern of the floating platform floors in Ilga's Antiquities. There is no sign of the sun or the two moons of Landfall, and it is impossible to tell what time of day it is. As time passes into what should be evening, it does not grow any darker. There is no night here. * You feel like you are being watched. * Fenri sees the Elk, with its blank white eyes, ahead. Showing him the way, as it sometimes does. It is much closer than ever before -- only about 60 feet ahead of you. ** As you maneuver the party through a nest of giant roots and moss and emerge on the other side, the Elk is now standing before you, in a small clearing, facing directly at you (which it never does), out in the open (which it never does), about 100 feet ahead. Only Fenri can see it. ** A moment passes, then an enormous, 200-foot tall tree ahead of you and slightly to the right, just gets up and walks across your path -- a Treant. You all have heard of these, but never seen one. ** Fiorah gasps, "Fidesleau!" (a Jeceau curse) ** The Treant just walks away, disappearing into the forest to your left, ignoring the party. ** But it crosses between Fenri and the Elk, blocking your view of the Elk for a moment. ** Then, as the Treant passes, Fenri you see, standing in the clearing straight ahead, your Mother. *** She is exactly as you like to remember her, vibrant and beautiful, smiling at you lovingly. *** The only difference is that her eyes are blank white, and she is wearing a tiara of thin twigs, arranged to give the appearance of short antlers. *** Only Fenri can see her. Invite Fenri to describe her. *** If he approaches, she cannot speak, but she will motion for him not to come too close. *** The rest of the party sees Fenri begin to take on a pearlescent sheen, similar to the grey elves' armor. *** The closer he gets to her, the less he can hear his companions. If he gets very close, he cannot hear them at all. *** She will clutch her heart, make a hugging gesture, and blow him a kiss. *** Then she will point ahead, toward an opening in the trees. Not a man-made path, but an easier way forward. It was shrouded in branches, and you probably would have missed it, if she hadn't pointed it out. **** You see a young woman standing on that path -- she is shimmering and slightly transluscent, like a foggy vision. Blonde hair, white wedding dress. She seems confused and lost, and she doesn't see you. She turns in your direction, looks directly toward you, but still doesn't see you. But you can clearly see her. It is Lyanna. *** Mother will adamantly gesture for him to keep his distance, tears in her eyes. **** If Fenri insists on embracing her, she will finally relent and open her arms. "Fenri... You know where she is. Do you choose to join her? There is no turning back from this choice." **** If Fenri joins her, he dies. Ask if there is anything he would like to say to his companions before he goes. He turns into a cloud of pastel rainbow-colored particles and blows away, leaving no corpse. *** You look to Lyanna. She is still there, a look of loss and confusion on her face. When you look back toward your Mother... your Mother is gone. *** You look back toward Lyanna... she's gone too. *** The Elk does not appear again inside the dell. *A few hours later, a thick pink fog rolls in from the forest to your left. **As you make your way forward, it matches your pace -- floating along beside you. **Eventually, the fog parts and moves around your group, keeping about a 10-foot distance from any individual partymember. **If someone tries to approach or touch the fog, it moves away, creating a sort of bubble of clear air around the person. ***Meanwhile, other partymembers will see the fog slipping into the gap behind the person -- beginning to separate that person from the rest of the party. ***If no one else intervenes, Fiorah will adamantly intervene and insist that everyone stay together. If the party gets separated inside the dell, they will likely never see each other again. **The fog eventually floats away to your right, disappearing into the woods. *A cloud of pastel pink, green, and blue pixies flutters by, far overhead. They ignore the party. **They are chattering, perhaps a hundred high-pitched voices, talking almost as fast as Fiorah. **They are speaking Sylvan. **It is very difficult to make out any one voice. But they are chattering about flowers, honey, and broken glass. **Any attempt to engage them in conversation will scare them away. *Wheat, on alert, will spot a humanoid shape in the woods to one side. You double-take, and you get a momentary shot of adrenaline as fight-or-flight instinctively kicks in. Your grip tenses around the trigger of your Savage Crossbow, but then you realize... it's just a tree. **Compared to the 200-foot tall towering ancient behemoth trees all around you, this tree is a relative sapling -- standing only about four feet tall. **The reason it got your attention is because it has a vaguely feminine curve to its shape, with leaves resembling hair and long above-ground roots resembling legs. You are on edge and alert, and liable to see things that aren't there. **So as your heartbeat settles and your trigger-finger relaxes, you breathe again... and then the sapling turns... opens its eyes... and looks at you. **It is a young woman, about your height, entirely nude, with bark for skin, leaves for hair, thin twigs for arms and fingers, and just over half her height in roots for legs. **She beckons you to approach with her twig-like fingers, then she strides -- almost glides -- across the forest floor toward a giant, beautiful oak tree. The oak is wrapped in a vibrant garland of forest flowers, with more flowers interwoven with its branches to hang like tinsel. It somehow blended into the forest so perfectly that you didn't notice it until now, but now that you see it, it's the most strikingly beautiful piece of nature that perhaps you've ever seen. **As she disappears behind the oak tree, you hear her voice in your mind, "Come to me. Help me." ***Wisdom saving throw (Gnome might have advantage) **On failed save, Wheat cannot willingly move away from the oak tree. **The dryad speaks to Wheat telepathically, but Wheat can only answer by speaking out loud. She will ask his name, and tell him that her name is Whisper. **She will beckon again, "Love me, the way I love you." ***Wisdom saving throw **On failed save, you experience an incredible sensation of love and acceptance in your heart. You've had fun and good company in your days (and whatever that was with Virginia Pix). But you sense that this woman knows you -- the real you, no facades, no pretenses -- and she accepts you entirely for who you are. You feel loved. Real, genuine love. **Whisper will beg Wheat to stay and "Help" her. As long as the charm remains in effect, he cannot move away from the oak tree. **If questioned, Whisper will ominously say, "I love this world. I love you, and all your friends. I do not want this world to die. Please help." ***She will say, "A crack opens in the glass, and I slide through. I come into this world, and make my home in this tree. It is so beautiful here. I see you, and you see me. But the glass keeps cracking, and darkness slides through. I do not want this world to die... What is time?" ***She wants to understand the concept of time, but will never understand it. **Whisper will be extremely reluctant to show herself, but she can be persuaded. **Whisper does not understand what is happening, but she will repeat (roughly) her way of seeing it (above). **Close inspection of the oak tree will reveal that it is leaking oily black sap. A Nature check will reveal it is dying. **Whisper can be persuaded to let Wheat go, but Wheat will always feel her love and her connection to him. Nothing else will ever be the same. Above Ilir-na-Nir Party arrives at a low ridge. You look down, and in a vast, crater-like recess below, you see vestiges of an overgrown ruined city, at least five times the size of Trethinville, and perhaps much larger. What must have once been hundreds of stone buildings, at least five times the size of Trethinville, have been reclaimed by the forest. From this vantage point, that's all you can see, but there is certainly more beyond, masked by canopies of roots, moss, and trees. You also see movement in the ruins. Mikoa, Fiorah, and Samurrian all instinctively drop down, laying flat on their bellies against the edge of the ridge, to avoid being spotted from below. After a moment of observation, you can make out a few of the hunched, beastly dark shapes moving through the ruins -- Ga'arg. You also spot patrols similar to the one you fought in the forest yesterday -- a winged Raven Ga'arg Mystic, escorted by black-clad grey-skinned elves. If you take only a few minutes to watch from here, you quickly determine that there are at least hundreds of ga'arg down there. Possibly thousands. There is absolutely no way you can just fight your way through that. * Mikoa is shocked to find ga'arg in a fae dell. That's something new. * Mikoa immediately declares: That's far too many ga'arg. I can't ask you to go down there. It's not safe. If you are detected, the ga'arg will swarm you in minutes. And a group this size will absolutely be detected. (she points to Lando's loud, clanky War Machine armor, and Exarch's bright, shiny Adamantine armor) Thank you for bringing me this far. I must go in alone from here. * Fiorah instantly protests and says, "Absolutely no! I am going with you!" * Samurrian instantly adds, "If Fiorah is going, then I am going too." * Mikoa will make token protest, but can be easily persuaded to let the party come along. After the party observes: * It is difficult to make out any distinctive features of the ruined city. It is mostly just a maze of collapsed and overgrown stone ruins. The streets are choked with rubble and strangled by the root systems of massive, eight-hundred year-old trees. * It is extremely difficult terrain down there, with dangerously low visibility. If you are extremely slow and careful, you might be able to move through those streets and buildings without being detected by the ga'arg -- moving from cover to cover. It will be a challenge, though. * At beginning of next session: Fiorah, bored, tries to eat, but all her rations are rotted. The entire party's rations are rotted. * With effort, the party can spot three landmarks: ** The remnants of a tall stone tower -- the tallest building still standing in the entire city -- near what was probably the city center. An enormous tree has grown up unnaturally coiled around the tower, like a corkscrew or a constrictor snake crushing the walls in places. The top of the tower is hidden in the green canopy of the tree, but in just a few minutes of watching, you see at least a dozen winged creatures fly in and out of the nested branches. *** With a high enough Perception check, you can tell the winged creatures are mostly Raven Ga'arg Mystics, although there are also a few more monstrous winged ga'arg, as well. *** The prospect of approaching that tower is daunting. It's one thing to hide from the patrols moving through the ruins -- it's another thing to avoid being spotted by above by the flying Raven Ga'arg. *** DM: The tower is Ar'ildruhul, also known as the World-Lens during the Myriad. It was home to the mages academy of Ilir-na-Nir and was a center for the study of teleportation magic. It is the center of this fae dell, and it contains a siabra pathstone. ** A clearing, littered with upturned, cracked, ruined paving stones, which you can only conclude must have been a city square of some kind. At the center is a cracked circular stone basin, which was probably a grand fountain. All around the circle are the broken remains of towering statues. The statues are missing their heads, limbs, or whatever spears or shields they might have been holding. But one statue is intact enough for you to tell that it was a humanoid soldier of some kind, with a spear and shield, but with the head of a horse. Strange. *** You suspect that you can probably approach the square by making your way through the ruined streets. The hard part will be avoiding detection by patrols and not losing your way in the overgrown maze of alleys. *** DM: The square is dedicated to the former archmages of Ilir-na-Nir. At the foot of the horse-headed statue is the entrance to a mausoleum, where the last archmage was entombed before the city was evacuated. This leads to the main (north/northwest) entrance to the Ilir-na-Nir dungeon. ** There is also an outer district of the city, nestled against the slope of the crater, that is almost completely overgrown. It looks more like a colorful garden now, with only occasional lumps of kin-carved stone sticking up here and there. At the center of the overgrowth is a striking, towering red-leafed fern tree -- a rare spot of contrasting color against the green, brown, and grey of the rest of the city. The fern is enormous -- some of its fronds are 20-feet long. *** It looks like this would be one of the slowest and most difficult areas to move through, but also perhaps the most concealed route into or out of the city. You will have to be careful in there, though. It would be easy to get lost in the thicket. *** DM: Hidden among the twisted roots of the red fern, the party will find a place where the roots have pushed and broken through into an underground tunnel system. This was not originally an entrance to the tunnels, but it is now. This leads to the back (north/northeast) entrance to the Ilir-na-Nir dungeon. Ilir-na-Nir Dungeon A: Fang Ga'arg Mystic Library Library shelves with dozens of old tomes. These books were kept by wizards, not by Cayrien monks, so the collection is much better organized than the Hall of Doves. Upon search: The library is almost entirely treatises and research papers on teleportation magic. The notes are dated mostly between year 900 and 1000 YC -- the height of the Myriad. This doesn't make sense. If true, these books would be over 800 years old, and should be rotted away to nothing. But these books, though some are brittle and aged, are mostly readable. With a high enough History check, you can determine some of the books show only about 5-10 years of neglect. Many different researchers authored these. Some notable names: Madrigast Star-Seer, Head Researcher: Apparently, Madrigast and the Archmage of Ilir-na-Nir did not get along, but the Archmage respected him nonetheless. Thus, while the Academy of Ilir-na-Nir was located in a tower called Ar'ildruhul ("The Perfect Lens"), Madrigast and his hand-picked cadre of magical misfits were given this crypt for their research. Madrigast oversaw and directed everything that went on here, and he is listed as a co-author on almost every book. His team conducted a lot of experiments with trans-planar portals, and he appears to be the inventor of the modern Teleportation Circle spell. A wizard can transcribe Teleportation Circle from these notes. Also a lot of experiments involving Hawlabaralthuza and what happens to a creature's soul upon death. Count Casimir von Recic, Necromancer: A former wizard-noble exiled from "Slogravia" (DC16 History: Slogravia is an old name for what is now Murr) after he mysteriously survived a lethal dose of poison. Madrigast accepted Casimir into Ilir-na-Nir and encouraged his research into extending life by siphoning the energy from undead souls. Casimir notes, with disappointment, that experiments with Hawlabaralthuza show that creatures killed with that blade cannot be resurrected or reanimated by any means, nor can their souls be captured. In a disturbing passage, Casimir laments that he needs a faster means for killing people, for his research, and he theorizes a 9th-level spell that can kill in a single word. A wizard can transcribe Vampiric Touch from Casimir's books. Geonny Scalepaw, Draconicist: A Feldhaslen expert on dragons and the draconic lifecycle. She theorizes that all dragons are female, they reproduce magically, they can shapeshift into elf-kin form, and they only grow stronger with age. They never grow feeble or geriatric -- instead they voluntarily "choose" to lay down and die. Geonny seemed more interested in dragon reproduction, whereas Madrigast heavily pressured her to research the dragons' pseudo-immortality. One of Geonny's research journals ends abruptly with a note from Madrigast that Geonny tragically perished while trying to study an ancient red dragon near "Ostersveberg." (DC12 History: Ostersveberg was an old kingdom, now lost and called the Scar) Ilga Greenpetal, Artificer: Madrigast's curator of magical inventory and primary assistant on teleportation and interplanar travel-related research. Her records note, with alarm, that the wizards of Ilir-na-Nir do not use the same wards and protections as the wizards of the Shadow Academy, in Bahd'Aireal, and that many of the artifacts in her collection have "turned" as a result. The entire latter half of her teleportation research journal has been torn out and is gone. The last entry, before the redaction, excitedly theorizes that Madrigast's magic can be adapted to move through time, instead of space. In a personal note, she is surprised how kindly Madrigast welcomed her to his team, though she does not explain why that's unusual. One of her tomes (titled "The Color of Glass") is magically locked. If unlocked, it contains her misgivings and fears about Madrigast's research, but she trusts him. Errigan Numiren, Diviner: A former member of the Wizards' Academy at "Nylsia." (DC12 History: Nylsia was an old kingdom, now part of Bruhinn; if aware, Mikoa will comment that Nylsia is now a ruin) In the same vein as Geonny Scalepaw's research into draconic immortality, Errigan theorized a similarly powerful energy in Aasimar. His papers are also filled with catty gossip about other wizards. B: Masoleum Caretaker's Private Chambers (and Secret Room) Private chambers of the masoleum caretaker. You see a dust-covered desk, a bookshelf, a single bed, a wooden chest, and a large dust-covered portrait on the east wall. Searching reveals: Desk: Papers on the desk are brittle and covered in dust, but it looks like only a few years of neglect -- nowhere close to 800 years. DC0 Investigation: In a partially-open, partially-stuck drawer, you find a small bundle of wrapped cloth, tied with a string. (Transmutation magic) Unwrapping the bundle, inside is an ornate brass ink pen, with an empty glass inkwell. The cloth reads: "The pen is." DC10 Investigation: You find an inkwell of high-quality black ink, sufficient for magical transcription, equivalent to 250g of ink. DC15 Investigation: Calligrapher's Supplies. DC20 Investigation: In a hidden compartment, you find a Forgery Kit. Bookshelf: Copious birth, death, and immigration records, spanning an over 350-year period. The oldest records are spotty, but the record-keeping becomes very detailed and comprehensive toward the end, especially during 900-999 YC. The records abruptly end in 999 YC, obviously incomplete. Searching for a specific record takes 10 minutes and is a DC10 Investigation check. * Madrigast Star-Seer: No records. * Casimir von Recic: Immigrated from Slogravia, 913 YC. Emigrated to Unknown, 990 YC. * Geonny Scalepaw: Born, Goldenfield Feldhasel, 933 YC. Died, East Reach Ostersveberg, 954 YC. * Ilga Greenpetal: Immigrated from Bahd'Aireal Ostergau, 991 YC. No record of her death. * Errigan Numiren: Born, Nylsia, 927 YC. Died, Ilir-na-Nir, 980 YC. * Archmage Kshyrist Wyren: Born, Ilir-na-Nir, 789 YC. Died as Archmage, Ilir-na-Nir, 844 YC. Chest: Locked. Conjuration magic inside. DC10 to open. A neatly-folded stack of moth-eaten robes and clothes. One of the robes, however, catches your eye, as it appears to be gently levitating inside the chest. Hyugen's Floating Robe. Portrait: A 3-foot tall painting with an ornate, heavy wooden frame. (Transmutation magic) The portrait depicts a robed wizard battling a tiefling. The tiefling looks like an armored fighter or some kind, and is wielding a two-handed sword. The wizard is unarmed, but his fist is pointed forward, as though casting a spell. The tiefling appears to be struggling and is clearly the villain in the picture, whereas the wizard is portrayed heroically. An engraving in the frame reads: "Mightier than the sword. -Archmage Kshyrist, Battle of the Nine Eyes, 822 YC" Placing the pen from the desk in the wizard's hand will cause the portrait to swivel in its frame, opening a secret door. Secret Chamber: '7 stacked, locked heavy iron safes, with combination dials and levers. DC20 and 10 minutes to open each one. When taking 10 minutes, roll 1d6 for random encounter on 6. This room is inside the radius of the Alkilith portal. Every 10 minutes, everyone in the room roll DC18 Wisdom save. * Safe 1: Marked with a fist. 100 sp, 60 gp. Belt of Dwarven Might. Magical. (Conjuration and Enchantment) Cursed. While attuned to this item you have +2 Strength, up to a maximum of 20, but you grow increasingly lethargic, suffering -1 Dexterity permanently every time you take a long rest. Each -1 decrement is a separate Curse which can only be cured by a Remove Curse spell. If your Dexterity drops to 0, you become paralyzed and cannot speak. If your Dexterity drops below 0, you stop breathing and die. * Safe 2: Marked with a winged shoe. 140 sp, 70 gp. Green glass dagger. Magical. (Enchantment) Cursed. Upon touching the dagger, DC18 Charisma saving throw, or begin screaming uncontrollably on a failed save. While screaming roll 1d6 for random encounter on 5-6 every minute. * Safe 3: Marked with a shield. 120 sp, 110 gp. Bits of pieces of heavy dwarven armor. Plate mail, magical. (Abjuration and Evocation) Armor of Vulnerability. Cursed. Resistance to bludgeoning damage; vulnerability to piercing and slashing damage. * Safe 4: Marked with a book. 80 sp, 30 gp. Wand of Infestation, DC 15. (Conjuration) Cursed. Each time you use the wand, roll 1d20. On a 1, the wand casts Insect Plague, DC 15, centered on itself instead. The plague lasts the full 10 minute duration, and moves with the wand. * Safe 5: Marked with a crescent moon. 110 sp, 50 gp. Philter of Concentration, Cleric or Paladin only. (Divination) Cursed. You may hold this item in your hand and use it as a spellcasting focus for any spell that requires concentration. The Philter maintains concentration for you, allowing you to cast and maintain a second concentration spell if you wish. If you are forced to make a saving throw to maintain concentration, and you fail, you lose concentration on both spells. While carrying the Philter, you become paranoid. You hear footsteps approaching; you hear people talking about you behind your back; and you see shapes peeking around the corners. You automatically fail all saving throws against fear and charm. * Safe 6: Marked with a tulip. 100 sp, 70 gp. Silk bag of crystal birds. (Necromancy) Cursed. All birds within sight are drawn to the bearer of this bag. Once within 30 feet, they instantly fall dead, and their feathers slowly turn to crystal. Each dead crystal bird is worth 2d6 gold. * Safe 7: Marked with a fang. Inside the safe is a sandalwood box, with platinum hinges. Mimic. C: Storage Room Crates and supplies for the former keepers of this mausoleum. Boxes and barrels of mundane tools, dishware, empty bottles, and mounds of tangled fungus that was probably perishable food, a long time ago. D: Wormspawn Side-Chapel The doors to this room are jammed. DC10 Athletics to force open. Once forced, the door swings violently inward and worm-infested corpses immediately spill out and attack. E: Siabra Enslavement Ritual Chamber In this chamber, a Raven Ga'arg Mystic is performing a ritual to enslave Siabra and bind them to the Material Plane. Four elf-kin figures are chained to posts in the corners of the room. A giant skull on the north side of the room hangs on the wall above a pool of murky green water. DC10 Medicine or Nature: The skull is literally a giant's skull. DC5 Nature: The murky green on the surface of the water is algae. The Raven Ga'arg removes its talons from the face of one of the elf-kin, having drained the color from its skin and bound it to servitude. The other three elf-kin fight against their restraints. If detected, the Raven Ga'arg will immediately summon Barbed Ga'arg, and then will retreat to the Steel Ga'arg chamber to the south. As soon as battle breaks out, the three siabra will break free and fend for themselves. * Sol: Summer. Fear aura. DC 16 Wisdom save. * Neptim: Winter. Charm (disadvantage aura). DC 13 Wisdom save. * Faelyn: Spring / grey. * Octavia: Fall. Charm (reaction to cause charmed creature to miss an attack). DC 16 Wisdom save. If battle begins, the Raven Ga'arg will activate an enchantment in the skull. At the beginning of every PC turn in sight of the skull, PC must make a DC10 Wisdom saving throw against charm or be forced to move half of your movement toward the skull, provoking opportunity attacks, and lose all remaining movement. Can still take actions and bonus actions, but cannot take the Dash action. If forced into the pool, you are instantly paralyzed, sink to the bottom (20 feet), and begin suffocating. Entering the pool voluntarily requires a DC10 Constitution saving throw or paralyzed, sink, and begin suffocating. Once the Raven Ga'arg is defeated, the siabra will flee by jumping into the pool. The water will flash brightly, then quickly evaporate as green and pink smoke. F: Escape Hideout In a nook you see a dead body slumped against the wall, his flesh torn away to expose about half of his skeleton. Judging by his clothes, it looks like he was a traveler, perhaps even an adventurer, who died a gruesome and violent death. DC0 Investigation: He has been picked clean, his pack turned inside-out on the ground beside him -- no money or valuables whatsoever, just a satchel of rotted rations. DC10 Investigation: You find an overlooked pouch in his backpack. Inside, you find a damaged and incomplete set of Navigator's Tools, engraved with Guild Compass markings and the name "Raxinumifrax." DC12 Medicine: It looks like whatever killed him ate his organs from the inside out. What's left of his skin shows dozens of small, circular wounds where something ate its way out of him, even through the bone of his skull. In the shallow, foul water nearby, a growth of mushrooms gives off a pale, colorless light. (Colorless Evershroom) G: Panic Room (and Secret Room) The doors to this room are jammed. DC14 Athletics to force open. Once inside, you can see that the door was barricaded from the inside. A haphazard stack of broken shelves, chairs, barrels, and tables are nailed or wedged to the door. The stone floor is badly scuffed and scratched. Two decomposed humanoid skeletons lay in the opposite corner, embraced in death. They are wearing tattered and ripped sages' robes. There is a burned spot on the floor in the center of the room, where it looks like they might have made a fire at one time. DC 0 Investigation on the bodies: 38 sp, 6 gp. Matching silver rings, worth 10 gp each. A pouch of arcane reagents for simple spells, mostly decayed and rotted. A wooden wand, arcane focus. A cracked quarterstaff. No spellbooks. DC17 to notice that the ceiling is scuffed and scratched, too, near the west wall. A secret door in the west wall requires DC15 Athletics to force open. A failed check causes the door to screech loudly as it scrapes across the floor (roll 1d6 for random encounter on 6). In this secret room, you find a small closet of broken shelves (used for the barricade). DC11 Investigation:Under a pile of debris, you find two wizards' spellbooks. One is a stiff leather-bound tome; the other is carved wooden shingles, held together by a metal ring, like a keyring. First spellbook: Sleep, Detect Magic, Mage Armor, Protection from Evil and Good, Magic Missile Second spellbook: Grease, Snare, Cause Fear, Find Familiar, Absorb Elements, Detect Magic H: Archmage's Tomb (and the Screaming Scissor) As you approach this room, you hear demonic, ritualistic chanting. It looks as though this room was once ceremonial hall or chamber of some sort, perhaps for funerals. But it has been completely cleared of furniture, except for a throne-like altar atop a platform at the far end of the room. Seated there, limp and dead upon the altar, is a mummified corpse, still wrapped in rags from head to toe. The mummy is guarded by four grey fae elves and a single massive ga'arg. This particular ga'arg looks larger and meaner than similar ones you've seen before. The ritualistic chanting echoes through the chamber, but you cannot tell where, exactly, it's coming from. Behind and above the mummy, the stone altar rises in the carved shape of frozen, stylized flames, intertwined and reaching upwards toward the ceiling. The top of the carving is 20 feet tall, and magically floating there, perfectly upright, above the stone flames, is a smooth black rod. The rod is just under three feet long, with open loops of metallic material at each end. Mikoa recognizes the weapon as Hawlabaralthuza, the Screaming Scissor. Clutched in the mummy's hand: '''The White Queen. '''The monsters attack as soon as they see the party. The Raven Ga'arg Mystic will summon barbed ga'arg on its first round of combat. Once the ga'arg are defeated, the party hears a dying man calling out from behind the altar. It is Mikael Thornstem, a former member of Lyra Frost's party. He is chained to an unsealed coffin (the coffin of the Archmage of Ilir-na-Nir) and has been gruesomely, ritualistically mutilated. He is too weak to say anything more than, "It is too late. ''Thuzrach m'naugh." (Draconic: "Kill me.") The party is then surprise attacked by a Vul'ghuul. Every round of combat, Mikael will beg the party, "Thuzrach m'naugh!" Killing Mikael with Hawlabaralthuza destroys the ghuul. Clutched in the mummy's hand: '''The White Queen Treasure in the Archmage's coffin * 20,000 gold * 2,400 platinum * 2 Large gold bracelets (250 gp each) * 2 Crystal chalices with jade inlay (250 gp each) * 1 Large ornate tapestry, depicting the city of Ilir-na-Nir during the height of the Myriad (250 gp) * 1 Gold signet ring, inset with bloodstones (250 gp) * 1 Box of turquoise animal figures (250 gp) * 2 Oil of Sharpness * Potion of Vitality * Scroll of Project Image As you kill the ghuul and collect the treasure, you hear sounds of battle from elsewhere in the mausoleum. A large company of Ardent arrives, led by Solasfyra Sunscar. She demands you hand over the Screaming Scissor, so it may be secured in the Ardent vaults. Mikoa will beg the party to hand it over. Solasfyra will explain that they arrived via the siabra path, from Lo'ail Ailin. The pathstone is atop the former Ilir-na-Nir wizard's academy tower, Ar'ildruhul ("the Perfect Lens"). She came for the Screaming Scissor, but her company has been detected. They are fighting ga'arg in the streets outside. Hundreds of ga'arg are converging on this mausoleum. If the party cooperates, Solasfyra will offer to escort them back to the tower and back through the siabra path. Solasfyra's toll: She has given up hope of getting revenge on Captain Kasparov. I: Teleportation Circle / Woespawner Whichever the party finds first (I or J), run this encounter only once. An otherwise empty chamber, with two concentric circles of dusty runic sigils carved into the floor. Attempting to read the sigils requires an Arcana check (advantage for Linguist feat). As your eyes trace their way around the circle and you read the runes silently to yourself, the mental effort of reading causes the runes to light up and glow as you go. Reader may continue making consecutive Arcana checks to read one entire circle, the circle illuminating as you go. Add each Arcana check to a cumulative total. A total of 100 finishes reading the entire circle. Reader must maintain Concentration to read the circle, and anything that breaks Concentration interrupts the reading. If the reader stops reading or Concentration is broken, the runes fall dark, and the reader must start over. Upon reading one circle, you realize it is a very primitive Teleportation Circle - perhaps a prototype; perhaps even the first Teleportation Circle ever inscribed. Unlike a modern Teleportation Circle, which only uses a single circle of runes, this circle uses two: 1) the outer circle opens the portal; 2) the inner circle closes it. Once the first reading is complete, the runes continue to glow. Every round, on Initiative count 20, an Alkilith's Foment Madness occurs and random ga'arg spew forth. Roll initiative for each new ga'arg. Roll 1d4 to determine spawning ga'arg: # 1d4 Barbed ga'arg # Bone ga'arg # Scorpion ga'arg # Steel ga'arg To close the portal, one person must Concentrate on reading the inner circle. Cumulative Arcana checks; 100 total required. J: Teleportation Circle / Woespawner Whichever the party finds first (I or J), run this encounter only once. K: Hidden Looted Crypt You come to a relatively quiet, dark, untraveled corner of the mausoleum. Unlike elsewhere, there are no footprints in the dust here. Two writhing masses of snakes, however, slither along in the darkness. DC15 Perception to notice cracks in the wall, where snakes are slithering through. DC15 Athletics to break away the wall, which was once a secret door, and find a hidden burial chamber. The coffins here are empty, however. They have been cracked open and looted. If you repair the wall and everyone squeezes together, it looks like this room looks like it might be a decent place to hide and rest. Names Inscribed Near Coffins Archmage Geonathan Snowclaw -- "Divinity by science." Archmage Stromm Pollack -- "Now dawns a myriad of plenty." Archmage Kshyrist Wyren -- "Reason will always prevail." Archmage Foster Lothyren -- "Worlds without number, beyond the sky. We are god now." Archmage Cleomitatra Zuul-tet -- "To be remembered forever." Provost Verilaine Aerefelle Provost Tytae Vosslander Maetrix Thibeau Pell Maeseer Marqus Clothwing Maetrix Chaetrisse Pell Maeseer Ferrimoor von Tirst Maeseer Robert Redfoot Maeseer Geoff Rivertail Maeseer Gharrimurn Rufelle Maeseer Geacob Stonetoe Maetrix Loria Neverfinder